Jeff McDonald: Special homecoming for newest Spur

DENVER — Not long after joining the Spurs last week, DerMarr Johnson took a quick look-see at the upcoming schedule. It is with great interest that he noticed the destination of his first road trip as a Spur.

Denver.

The Spurs play there on Thursday.

Johnson played three mostly wasted seasons in the Mile High City before his sort-of-mutual departure this offseason. The Nuggets made it clear they had no plans to re-sign him. By that point, he was playing so little he probably didn’t want to return to Denver anyway.

But he doesn’t mind being back in Denver now.

“I loved Denver, the city, the fans and my teammates,” Johnson said after a Wednesday workout in San Antonio before the Spurs left for Denver. “I had a good time playing there, but I thought my career was really about to pick back up. Then it kind of went downhill out of nowhere.”

Why?

“I don’t think it was anything I did,” he said. “I stayed there all summer and played all summer. I never missed a practice. I got better and did the same things I’d always been doing. It just didn’t work out in my favor for some reason.”

Meanwhile, over in Denver, Nuggets coach George Karl took the high road in discussing his former benchwarmer. When asked about Johnson’s recent call-up from the Developmental League’s Austin Toros, Karl was complimentary.

“He’s had an interesting career,” Karl said. “When I heard he was playing in the D-league, I thought that was good. And then to be rewarded, I think is even better.”

So, why didn’t Johnson cut it in Denver? According to Karl, there were two reasons: Yakhouba Diawara and Bobby Jones.

“You’ve got Kuba, who can play,” Karl said. “We’ve got Bobby Jones, who at times can play. It seems like teams get overloaded with guards.”

Of course, on the list of acceptable reasons to be cut, “jettisoned in place of Yahkouba Diawara and Bobby Jones” probably doesn’t rank very high.